OJ, at least 15 years

The original courtroom drama
40 mins ago

So it wasn’t a high-speed freeway chase in a white Bronco, but O.J. Simpson's day in court certainly delivered on the drama.

The big news is that Simpson is going to prison for kidnapping and armed robbery and could serve as much as 33 years in prison. But equally interesting is what happened before the hefty sentence came down.

Today was the first time many of us actually heard O.J. Simpson say "I’m sorry" in a courtroom. His voice seemed to break and it looked like he was fighting back tears as he read a surprise statement to the judge. He explained: "I didn’t want to hurt anybody. I didn't know I was doing anything wrong ... I stand before you somewhat confused." Simpson continued for about five minutes, sometimes rambling, as he talked about how he was merely trying to recover property that had been stolen from his family.

And while this case had nothing to do with the circus-like "trial of the century" that consumed the country back in 1995, some familiar faces in today’s courtroom wouldn't let us forget the drama of those days.

Sydney Simpson, O.J.'s twenty-three year-old daughter who is old enough to remember the last trial, was there to see her father receive a sentence that will put him into prison for at least nine years. Emotions also ran high for the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, who made the trip to Las Vegas to watch the sentencing.

Ron's father, Fred Goldman, continues to believe O.J. Simpson murdered his son and wasn't moved by the apology. Goldman told reporters: "He committed a crime. He's gonna be where he belongs, with others of his kind, and he can complain there." Denise Brown, Nicole’s sister, said she is saddened about how the prison time will affect Sydney and her brother Justin.

And the drama may not be over. As AP pointed out, many attorneys who have watched this case from the beginning are still sorting out the complex series of consecutive and concurrent sentences to determine how much time Simpson got and how much he will actually serve. USA Today’s newsblog shows top newspapers from around the country are just as confused. None of them agree on how much time Simpson actually got. Is it 9 years like the New York Times reports? 15 according to the Washington Post? 16 as reported by the Los Angeles Times? Or is the Wall Street Journal the one to trust with a report of 33 years?

In the end, it might not matter. O.J. Simpson’s lawyer plans to appeal by arguing that a fair trial was nearly impossible after Simpson’s 1995 acquittal.